


Packing the Christmas Tree

by Small_Hobbit



Series: Twelve Days of Christmas [12]
Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 18:37:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Twelfth Night and the tree needs to be taken down</p>
            </blockquote>





	Packing the Christmas Tree

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Somniare](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somniare/gifts).



“If you’d let me take the tree down last week, when I wanted to, we wouldn’t have had this problem,” Robbie Lewis complained.

“But it’s traditional to take the decorations down on Twelfth Night,” James Hathaway replied.

“And no doubt it’s traditional for a copper to end up in A&E on New Year’s Eve, but it doesn’t mean that I’m the one it has to happen to.”  Robbie waved the plaster cast on his arm to emphasise the point and knocked two of the ornaments off the tree in the process.

“It’s alright, I’ve got them,” James said.  And then started to cough and splutter as he bent down to retrieve them.

“I told you to stay in bed.  You really aren’t well enough to be up and about yet.”

“I couldn’t leave you to pack the tree up by yourself.”

“We could have left it until tomorrow.”

“No,” James sounded horrified.  “That would bring bad luck.”

“And there I was, thinking that me getting a broken arm on New Year’s Eve, thanks to that bastard Watkins, which meant you had to do all the outdoor work for the next two days whilst you were fighting a cold, which ended up on your chest, so that you spent three days in bed, was sufficient bad luck for a bit.”

“Maybe you were late taking down last year’s decorations?”

“I didn’t have any decorations last year; it didn’t seem worth it.  Having you living here made it worthwhile putting them up.”

“They did look good though.”

“Aye, they did.  And now we need to get them down.”

Robbie began to remove the decorations one handed, leaving any that wouldn’t come free easily for James to deal with.

“I don’t think I ever said how much I liked the wooden ornaments you bought,” Robbie said.

“Thank you.  I’ve seen them in a few places and always thought how nice they looked, but never expected I’d have anywhere worth hanging them, so when you said we were getting a tree I couldn’t resist going out and buying them.”

“Soft lad!”

“I’m glad you were happy to hang some of your old ornaments.  I was a bit afraid that they’d bring back too many sad memories.”

“They would have done once upon a time, but now the memories are good ones.  I can remember hanging them when the kids were small.  Val used to buy two or three new ones each year, so they were always a mixed bag.  And then there were the ones they’d bring home from school, which would be hung proudly right in front and slowly replaced as new ones were made.  They’ve all fallen apart now, of course.”

“I don’t remember ever making tree decorations, or if I did they were never hung up.”

“In which case, I shall add that to my list of ‘Things to do better for Christmas’: James to make tree decorations.”

The sadness that had briefly crossed James’ face was replaced with a smile.  “Along with agree in advance who is buying the Christmas pudding.”

“Quite.  Two large puddings really was excessive.  And remember what time Laura has been invited for Boxing Day drinks.”

“We could have survived that one if you hadn’t sent her to put her coat in the back bedroom at the same time as I realised I had forgotten to take a towel with me when I had a shower.”

“She said you went a lovely shade of pink.”

The memory of Laura’s exclamation had them both laughing, until James started to cough again.

“Go and sit down,” Robbie said.  “I’ll make some coffee.”

“Are you sure you can manage?”

“Yes, it will just take a bit longer than usual.”

Robbie brought the coffee through and they sat together on the settee.  Robbie’s phone rang and he waved his coffee mug rather ineffectively at it.  James took pity on him and answered it.

 “Hi, Laura,” James greeted her cheerfully. “No he’s fine.  He’s got a mug of coffee in one hand and can’t cope with the phone with the other at the moment.”

Robbie pulled a face at him as he continued, “We’ve been taking the decorations off the tree.  They’re boxed up now and the tree just needs collapsing.”

James smiled at Laura’s reply.

“Actually, there is something you could do if you wanted to help.  Neither of us are able to go into the loft at the moment, so if you could come round and put them up there for us.”

Robbie could hear Laura saying something, but was unable to make out what the words were.  James grinned and turned to him.

“Would you believe that she said she’d had quite enough bare faced cheek from me recently?”


End file.
